My name is Brett, and I am a Microsoft Office holdout.
In fact, I am writing this blog in Word. Last week, I decided to write directly into our blogging system, but flew too close to the sun and lost an hour of work.
The Only 5 Chrome Extensions I Install
Over the years, I’ve used Google Chrome as my default browser more than any competitor. A couple of times I ran into issues with a build and switched to Firefox, but that didn’t last more than a few months.
ANSYS Mechanical – Balancing Performance and Licensing Costs
We test a lot of software here at Puget Systems, and in most cases what we are looking for is what hardware lets a given program run the fastest – or in some cases, what is the most cost effective. If you can get 95% of the best possible performance for half the price that it would cost to get a full 100%, for example, that is often a compelling way to go. However, ANSYS Mechanical (and FLUENT) present a different challenge: how can you get the best performance within the limitations of the ANSYS licensing model?
The First Five
There’s nothing quite like a fresh install of Windows.
It takes time. It takes patience. And, at least once during the process, I want to strangle someone at Microsoft.
Once I’ve updated all my device drivers and let Windows Update do its thing, I launch into a fresh, unadulterated Windows desktop. it’s the equivalent to that new car smell. You know it’s not going to last more than a week or two, but you might as well enjoy it while it lasts!
In Search of the Best Slideshow Software
I didn’t realize what I’d got myself into when I volunteered to put a slideshow together for my parent’s 50th wedding anniversary. I asked my father to send me some of his earliest pictures so I could scan them. A few days later two large manilla envelopes full of old Polaroids arrived. When I asked if he could send a few recent pictures, he sent a USB stick that contained over 10,000 pictures.
Windows 7: The End is Nigh
Windows 7 updates are being limited by Microsoft on the latest processor platforms, and in combination with the other issues we’ve seen lately when installing Windows 7 we are now only listing it as an option on well-supported configurations… until we run out of licenses, then it’s over.
Bring On The New Year
The start to a new year is a good time to review your PC. Last weekend I pulled out my desktop PC and performed the following:
My 5 Favorite Products of 2016
With 2016 coming to end, I thought it would be interesting to look back at some of my favorite products of the last year.
I prefer products that seamlessly blend into my life. That means they shouldn’t require a lot of updates or ask me to change my behavior very much in order to enjoy them.
With that in mind, here are five of my favorite products of 2016:
Update Woes!
I had a client who recently contacted me over the weekend in a bit of a panic because he had just upgraded to the latest Adobe Premiere CC 2017 and that caused him some grief.
Time for William to learn Linux
I’m going to diversify my operating system portfolio, integrating the leading open source project into my existing range of Microsoft options. (Did I nail that financial analogy or what?)
